Yes, the middle class in the U.S. has been shrinking for decades, with its share of adults falling from 61% in 1971 to around 50-51% by the early 2020s, as many households moved up to the upper-income bracket, while others moved down, creating a widening income gap and a hollowed-out middle, though overall wealth has grown. This trend reflects increasing income inequality, with the middle class seeing slower income growth compared to the upper class, alongside broader economic shifts.
While the global middle class grows, in the West increasing inequality for some drives a relative decline in middle-income populations. Coupled with the erosion of secure jobs, the US in particular sees a steadily shrinking middle.
The middle class, once the economic stratum of a clear majority of American adults, has steadily contracted in the past five decades. The share of adults who live in middle-class households fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data.
We use your size-adjusted household income and the cost of living in your area to determine your income tier. Middle-income households – those with an income that is two-thirds to double the U.S. median household income – had incomes ranging from about $56,600 to $169,800 in 2022.
Over one quarter, 28.5%, of all income was earned by the top 8%, those households earning more than $150,000 a year. The top 3.65%, with incomes over $200,000, earned 17.5%. Households with annual incomes from $50,000 to $75,000, 18.2% of households, earned 16.5% of all income.
From groceries to housing, basic necessities are becoming increasingly unaffordable for all Americans. As Roosevelt's experts have explored, there's a common culprit: corporate concentration, enabled by a lack of antitrust enforcement, resulting in stagnant wages and a lack of worker power.
Yes, $70,000 a year generally falls within the U.S. middle-class income range, but it depends heavily on location and household size, often sitting at the lower end of middle income, especially in high-cost areas where it might even feel lower, while in lower-cost areas it could offer a more comfortable middle-class lifestyle. The Pew Research Center defines middle class as two-thirds to double the national median household income, which puts $70k right around the median itself, making it squarely middle-class nationally but varying greatly by zip code.
But crucially, the middle class shrinks because people are moving up the income ladder, not because they're falling down. Since 1979, the share of Americans in the upper-middle class has roughly tripled—from about 10 percent to 31 percent—while shares of those considered lower middle class or poor fell substantially.
A good retirement income is often cited as 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement income, but many experts now suggest aiming for closer to 100%, especially in early retirement, to cover varying lifestyles, travel, and healthcare costs, with a solid starting point being around $5,000-$8,000/month depending on your current earnings and desired lifestyle. This number isn't universal; adjust upward for luxury travel or high-cost areas, and downward if downsizing or paying off debts.
20 jobs that pay at least $40,000
Housing Costs Outpacing Income Growth
For most families, housing has always been the largest expense, but in recent years it's become nearly unmanageable. Median home prices have soared far faster than wages, pushing traditional middle-class neighborhoods out of reach.
The world's fastest shrinking economy, South Sudan's output is expected to show a decline of 26.4% in 2024. The situation has become so desperate that the South Sudanese government has resorted to levying taxes on international aid trucks and UN peacekeepers, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Rising mortality rates, mental health crises, political polarization, and declining trust in institutions paint a bleak picture. Additionally, if you add to ongoing health crises, geopolitical tensions, and the loneliness epidemic, 2025 will unmistakably be a difficult year.
Five common income classes, often based on income distribution like quintiles (fifths) of the population, are Lower Class, Lower-Middle Class, Middle Class, Upper-Middle Class, and Upper Class, with specific income thresholds varying by source but generally defining the middle class as earning around two-thirds to double the national median income, adjusted for household size and cost of living.
What Percentage of Americans Make Over $70,000 Annually? U.S. Census data reports that in 2022 (the most recent data available), 49.8% of Americans made $75,000 and more, and 16.2% earned between $50,000 and $75,000. Based on these statistics, at least half of Americans make $70,000.
U.S. Wealth Distribution is Top Heavy
The rich half own about $156 trillion (or about 98% of it). The poorer half only own about $4 trillion. Breaking down that top half even further, the top 1% (1.3 million families) owns about $49 trillion (or about one-third of the total share) by themselves.
Several factors contribute to food inflation, including many such as droughts and supply-chain bottlenecks that largely fall outside of politicians' control. But most economists agree that one of the Administrations' key policies—tariffs—have contributed significantly to pushing up prices.
People making six-figure salaries used to be considered rich—now households earning nearly $200K a year aren't considered upper-class in some states. Emma Burleigh is a reporter at Fortune, covering success, careers, entrepreneurship, and personal finance.
These guidelines are adjusted each year for inflation. In 2025, the federal poverty level definition of low income for a single-person household is $15,650 annually. Each additional person in the household adds to the total. For example, the poverty guideline is $32,150 per year for a family of four.
A $150k salary is quite good and relatively rare, placing a household in the top 10-20% nationally, far above the median income, but its "wealth" status varies significantly by location, feeling middle-class in high-cost areas like San Francisco but affluent in lower-cost regions. While it's well above the national median ($70k-$100k range), it's not yet top 1% ($450k+) but puts you in the upper-middle class for most places.